The Heart Of Darkness
by R. Wright
Summary: Squall as well as the rest of the Fated Children are once again trapped between two battling forces of unimagined strength. Can they defeat their greatest enemy, and return from the Heart of Darkness, or will this be their last journey together?
1. The Fallout

The Heart of Darkness

You know the drill. Original Characters mine, yada yada yada, don't copy!!!.

Steam hisses and electronic noises could be heard from the battered ruins of the bridge of Balamb Garden. Pieces of metal and blood littered the floor; signs of a massacre. Students lay dying as a lone SeeD stood staring at the door, with his gunblade in hand. He knew that he should be helping the wounded, but if he lost focus for one second, he would be on the floor with them. He had to get away from the absurdity of this. As if on cue, three Galbadian Guards stormed the room. The lone soldier raised his sword to block, and after a few dodges slashed the first soldier with ease. However, the second and third soldier used the time gained to surround him. The SeeD, understanding that his time was up, dropped his sword and put his hands behind his head.

"And that ladies and gentlemen, is not how you win a battle!" Selphie Tilmitt said, giggling uncontrollably. She, along with the large audience she was talking to, had been looking at the scene on a large projection screen connected to a futuristic pod looking contraption.

"Now it's time to get him out of this thing!!" she said as she pushed a large red button next to the pod. Steam hissed, and the pod opened, revealing a sleeping Squall with a helmet on. Suddenly Squall's body jerked awake, and he quickly snatched the helmet off of his head. He could hear the cheering of the crowd, praising the most famous person in Gaia.

"Whoa… that was amazing" Squall said sheepishly, feeling bad about having lost in front of so many people. He quickly shoved the thought out of his head, however, as Selphie started speaking again.

"This is it ladies and gentlemen. The future of Balamb Garden's training program is here and these pods!! In the three years since the Second Sorceress War, we have made many strides toward preparing our defense. This just may be the most important one, in training the younger students who cannot be sent into live missions. We would like to thank Commander Leonhart over here for volunteering to do this first run……."

Squall had stopped listening, because he knew that he absolutely did not volunteer for this. Rinoa made him do it for the Garden Festival kick-off. "It's not going to kill you, she said, with that beautiful smile on her face……." Squall bemused. That was three months before they had broken up. Although they were still friends, there was still an awkward feeling when they were together; a realization that everything that they had been through together didn't make their relationship any stronger. Squall, still in deep thought, didn't realize that Selphie had stopped talking to the audience and was now talking to him.

"……and so you're going to be doing a little tour. for the SeeD transfers in the main hall, ok?..........ok?..............Squall!!!!!?"

"Huh?" Squall awoke from his bemusement, looking for a way out of what he knew was coming. Seeing no way, he gave a defeated sigh and nodded.

"Great, thank you so much Squall. Don't worry, you'll be there with Zell, Irvine and Quistis. Rinoa will be with me and Xu in the upstairs classrooms doing presentations for the junior classmen. Just wait in front of the information thingy and wait for the rest of the group." Selphie said as she ran off out of the Quad. Squall shook his head and walked out behind her into the Main Hall.

Squall stood in front of the information kiosk in the Main Hall. He looked up at the streamers hanging from the ceiling. There were 6 of them, each with a picture of one of the so-called "Fated Children" he had led. There were all of them up there, with smiling faces and weapons drawn. As his first act as Commander of All Gardens was to make pictures, signs, books, and even movies about the Second Sorceress' War, in an attempt to curb the forgetfulness brought on by GFs. He wanted people to never forget what had happened, and to learn from it. So far, it seemed so. Galbadia was in better shape, forming a united government with Dollet, Timber, and Winhill, making The Federation of Meade. Esthar had finally opened its doors to the West, and President Laguna Loire was currently in the precess of building an Esthar Garden. Before Squall could think more on world events Zell, Irvine, Quistis, and a large group of other people in SeeD uniforms walked up to him.

"Hey Squall" Irvine was the first to speak. He still had that hat and the trench coat. Quistis spoke next, with a dreamy look in her eyes. Zell mumbled a few words about the cafeteria hotdogs before shaking Squalls hand.

"Ok everyone; this is the man that I'm sure you're waiting to see. Commander Leonhart, would you like to say something." Quistis spoke, turning to stand next to Squall. He hated when Quistis put him on the spot like this. Since the three years since he had been appointed commander of SeeD by Headmaster Cid, he had made about 20 speeches and messed up on all of them. As his second in command, Quistis should have been the one doing this quick tour, but he was stuck with it anyway. He tried to focus on the entire audience, but one girl kept his attention. He noticed that she look exactly like Edea, except she couldn't have been a day over twenty. She wore a baggy pair of red pants, with a white tank top. He eyes, flaming red, stared into Squall's, making Squall nervous.

"Well…….um…….this is the main hall of Balamb Garden" Squall spoke, tripping over his words. "As you can see, the hall is circular; all connected to walkways that go the 6 parts of the first floor of Gar….."

"Excuse me; when do we get to see the virtual reality pods?" the girl spoke excitedly, causing Squall to lose his train of thought. He tried to speak, but those dark eyes made him freeze in his tracks. He began to feel dizzy, and before you know it, he was on the floor, trying hard not to close his eyes. He closed them, and quickely opened them. What he saw was not the Main Hall, but rather a void similar to the place where he and his friends fought Diablos. He tried to stand up, but was only able to manage sitting up. He sat there for a few minutes until he heard a booming, earthly voice speak out at him.

"Are you ready to complete your Quest?" the voice spoke, shaking Squall to his very core.

"Who are you?" Squall shot back, trying to hide his obvious fear.

"Do not be afraid of me Squall." The voice boomed. "I am the one you mortals call Hyne"

**_Update Soon- ReviewPleeeaaaassseeee!!!_**


	2. Heed The Call

The Heart of Darkness

Chapter 2

It took Squall a full ten minutes before he could speak up to the voice of God himself. Squall, like everybody else, asked himself what he would say if he encountered God, but he honestly didn't think it would happen. He dug deep into his soul; he found nothing. In quiet desperation, Squall closed his eyes tight hoping to will himself back into reality.

"Are you ready yet?" Hyne spoke patiently. Squall figured that Hyne wasn't going to let him go until he got his point across, and decided to give in and listen.

"What I am about to tell you will change your entire life" Hyne said with earnest. "Will you heed my call? Squall could only shake his head in disbelief.

"Squall, you have proven yourself to be the most able warrior I have ever seen. You, along with your friends, have taken on the most powerful of beast and humans, defeating armies of men, eventually taking on the most powerful sorceress of your time. I am here to tell you that those feats are mere test for your coming quest.

Squall instantly thought back to the events leading up to Ultimecia. Was all of his pain, all his strife for nothing? Just a test? With his confusion overcoming him, he slowly sat down on the flat, stone-cold ground. As he sat, the figure of a woman appeared out of the darkness.

"I thought that this body may be more…comfortable for you" the woman said in a warm, assuring manner. Her auburn hair dropped past her shoulders, and her eyes looked at Squall with the love of a mother about to embrace her child. Squall didn't feel any more comfortable than before.

"Who is she?" Squall asked, getting impatient. She looked familiar, like he had seen her in a dream.

"In due time, Squall" The woman responded. "Right now you need to know only what is absolutely vital. As I was saying; Ultimecia was you and your friends' biggest challenge yet, was it not?"

Squall just nodded in response.

"Ultimecia was only a pawn in a struggle that has been raging since the beginning of time itself. I am afraid that your friends are only pawns as well in our war for this very planet."

"And where are the rest of the pieces?" Squall said, still dazed from the tidal wave of information he was receiving.

"You must understand-"the woman spoke. "-there are only pawns and people who pretend they are kings."

"How can you say that, being God? Squall asked, not understanding what Hyne just said.

"You humans do not understand" Hyne said, putting a hint of sorrow into the woman voice. "I only seem all-powerful to you because you do not see your own power." I am simply a being that has protected your planet since its very inception. Hyne quickly took the sorrow out of her voice and quickly regained his regal attitude. "This force, this power, is a being called Astrida, and I have been fight her for thousands of years. She is the Grand Sorceress; the beacon from which all sorceresses draw their power. Ultimecia was simply her minion. Time Compression wasn't for Ultimecia; it was for Astrida."

Squall was confused. What did he have to do with all of this? He was just a warrior who was chosen by circumstance. This couldn't be real. I was too absurd to be real.

"Squall, you play a crucial part in this war. You and your friends stopped her plans by destroying Ultimecia. She has not forgotten her defeat, and she will stop at nothing to destroy you.

"Squall sat listening quietly as the woman spoke for Hyne. A little over three years ago, he had barely defeated what was supposed to be the most powerful force ever seen. Now that force was just a speck? What did that make him? Squall decided not to voice his questions as Hyne continued to speak.

"There is a prophecy that dictates all of this." Hyne spoke. Finally Squall was going to get the answer to why he was here. Hyne began to speak again.

"_The Child of The Lion will defeat the Lady of Evil under the bridge, with the 5 Children, A Dead Man with the cross, and the Flower at his side"_

"What does that mean?" Squall asked, frustrated that he still didn't know what was really going on.

"That is for you to find, Squall" the woman spoke, a soft smile sweeping across her face. "Just one more clue. They will reveal themselves to you in there dreams." The woman disappeared, and the original booming voice came back.

"Heed the call". And with that, everything disappeared. Squall felt a cold feeling, as if he was being dipped in ice water from his head to his toes. He closed his eyes again, afraid to open them. When he finally did, he was lying in the infirmary bed, exactly where he was at the start of his first adventure. As he laid there wondering if it was all a dream, the flame eyed-girl walked into the room.

"Are you ok?" She spoke apologetically. "Sorry to bother you like this, but I had to introduce myself. My name is Lilly."


End file.
